Milk Bread

My dear friend Alina grew up in Japan and is always texting me pictures of a cool breakfast pastry or cookie or bread that she’s dying for us to try. Recently when Christopher and I traveled to Tokyo, she gave us the firm directive to eat milk bread (and also bring some back for her). She described it as soft and sweet and fluffy and unlike anything you can find in the States. We searched everywhere we went but couldn’t find it, so when I returned home I was determined to make it for her. I loved learning about using tangzhong, which is a technique that mixes a cooked flour mixture into bread dough to keep the bread tender and fresher for longer. We often think of great bread as hailing from Old World Europe, but making this reminded me that amazing bread is made in Asia as well. This is a beautiful bread and, as Alina promised, worth the long hunt.